Paul McCartney Albums Ranked Worst to Best

When it comes to our list of Paul McCartney Albums Ranked Worst to Best, some things are expected. His lightly regarded '80s output, for instance, doesn't fare so well. Scroll through the below list and you'll see that Wings' widely celebrated Band on the Run does, however.

But we've left plenty room elsewhere for McCartney's more recent post-Beatles successes, even as we've made some judicious cuts. Our list doesn't feature any non-original McCartney projects, including various soundtracks (like 1984's Give My Regards to Broad Street), live albums or covers-focused LPs like Run Devil Run from 1999.

There's also no mention of McCartney's forays into classical or songbook pop, so 2012's Kisses on the Bottom isn't here either. Still, Paul continued making vibrant music well into the new century, and that leaves plenty of great music to discuss. In fact, a couple of Top 10 items on this list of Paul McCartney Albums Ranked Worst to Best date to the 2000s, a period when many of his contemporaries had devolved into oldies acts.

By then, McCartney had established a new kind of longevity, fronting a lineup that had stayed together longer than either of his other bands. Their live shows typically touched on every element of his career, and it's easy to see why while listening to these albums again. The Beatles always defined him, but McCartney's story didn't end there.